Accused Spy’s Bail Set at 20,000 Pounds; Mapam Expresses Support

The Haifa District Court today set bail for Aharon Cohen, Mapam leader and Arab expert who is charged with espionage in behalf of a “foreign state,” at 20,000 pounds. It was stressed that Mr. Cohen, who faces a 15-year prison term if convicted, is suffering from a heart ailment.

Meanwhile, the Mapam Party, in a statement by Meir Yaari, one of its leaders, expressed confidence that Mr. Cohen was “not a spy and not a traitor to Zionism.” Mr. Yaari’s statement to newsmen declared that though the Mapam Party did not wish to interfere with the government’s investigation of Mr. Cohen, who yesterday was formally charged with handing over secret information to an agent of a “foreign power,” it felt that on the basis of the information made available to the party there is insufficient proof that Mr. Cohen had committed the alleged crimes. “The party will continue to defend him unless more proof is established,” Mr. Yaari stated.

The charges made public yesterday against Mr. Cohen specified that between April and August of this year he had met and passed on information to a foreign agent at or in the vicinity of his home kibbutz, Shaar Haamakim.